Heney b



(No Mod'el.)

H. Bg. MQMURRAY 8v L. SCOTT'.

CAR coUPLING.

Patentdmf, 10,1188

UU l @www w i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

. l HENRY B. MoMUEnAY AND LEVI soorr, or BUEGErrsrowN, PA..

CAR-COUPLING- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 252,238, dated January 10, 1882. Application flied cantera-1,1881; (no moan.) I

'To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY B. M CMURRAY l and LEVI SCOTT, ofBurgettstown, ill the county ot'Washington and State of Pen nsylvani a, have invented a new andV useful Improvement in Car-Couplings; and we do hereby declare" the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrip- 'tion thereof, reference being had to the acl-oinpanying drawings, forlnin g a part of this specification, in whichl l Figure lis a perspective view, partly broken `-away, illustrating ourinvention. Fig. 2 is a .ling cars, its object being to provide autonlatic longitudinal central sectiouof a buffer-head, `illustrating the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view` showing another formof the operating appa- .ratus; and Fig. tis a view in detail ofthe parts `composing the link-guiding apparatus.

l Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

Ourinvelltionrelates to apparatus for coupcoupling devices to` be used on the common ill general use on railroadcars.

Our invention consists, first, in colnbining with' a coupling-pin for securing the collplinglink a supplemental pin 'or rod pivoted to the head of the coupling-pin and extending through the buffer-head, and so arranged that on raising the couplillg-pin the supplemental rod will automatically catch on the base of the butferheadmcavity1 in such position as to be causedv -to drop by the incomillg link, and so permit dinary holes, cc', for the couplin g-pin, the butferhead beill g secured to the car-body in theusual or any approved manner.

D is the coupling-pin, which is of proper size to fitthe holes c c', and has the usual ring, d, at its head, by 4whicll it is4 drawn out. "The pin has an extension, e, projecting fron] the side of and by its base h prevents the the head, in which is pivoted a supplemental pin' or rod, F, which is longer than the coupling-pin, so that when the end ofthe rod rests on the base of the link-cavity b the couplingpin is held clear of the cavity. The rod F extends through holes g g in the head B, back of the coupling-pin, the lower hole, g', being placed farther back than the upper hole, g, so that when the rod F extends through both holes it is held on a slight incline, being arranged in this manner so that when on lifting the coupling-pin the rod is lifted clear of the hole g' it will, by its own weight, automatically swing forward and rest on the base of the link or buffer-head cavity b infront of the hole g', holding the coupling-pin clear of the link-cavity, and being in such position that When the link enters the cavity it will knock or press the rod F back over the hole g and cause both rod and coupling-pin to drop, thus coupling the car.

The coupling-pin has secured to it a guide,

Jl, which is preferably formed in shape of a yoke, one arm of which extends downen either side of the buffer-head B, fitting ill perpendicular guide-recesses i back of the face b', and theV base hot' which extends llnder the bufferhead. Ihe guide thus holds the pin in proper position. insures its perpendicular movement, pin from beillg drawn out of the buffer-head. The couplingpin guide may also be formed of separate rods sliding in perpendicular holes ill the bufferllend, or oflike devices which will hold the pill ill proper position during its movement.

In order to uncouple the coupling from the side of the car,`we mount in suitable loops or hea-rings along the base ofthe car-body a har, k, and provide it with a crank, I, on either side of the car. From this bar 7c an arm, m, extends out and passes through the ring d on the head of the coupling-pin, the pin being raised by this armywhen the bar k is turned by the cranks. To open the coupling from above, as where arranged on a freight-car, a l

chain or rope, n, is secured to the rillg cl of the pill D, and passes through a loop on the platform-floor or ear-roof, and by pulling this chain the pin is lifted, the guide h causing its` perpendicular lnovelnent and preventing its being plllled out of place.

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In the base of the buffer-head cavity b, in

front of the coupling-pill c, is arranged the lifting-bar p, for holding the link in proper IOS position to enter the buffer-head cavity of the car with which it is to be coupled. This bar is formed in the shape of aT. The long arm r extends through a hole in the buffer-head, While the upper bar tits in a suitable recess in the face of the link-cavity base. The back surface of the arm r is provided with a ratchet, in which a pawl on a rod,s,catches to hold'the lifting-bar at any desired height. The rod. s is pivoted or secured on the back of the buerhead face b', and it is pressed forward so as to catch in the ratchet either by a separate spring or by thinning part of the rod s to iinp'art to it sufficient spring to hold it in place. Extending longitudinally through the buffer-head, so as to project a short distance beyond its face, is the pin t, the inner end of which presses against the pawl-rod s, so that when the face of theopposite buffer-head strikesthis pin and presses it back it throws the pawl-rod ont of connection with the ratchet-arm r and causes the lifting-bar to drop.

Ourimproved coupling apparatus is operated as follows: here acoupling is to be made the linkP is secured in one buffer-head in the usual manner, and by pressing on the knob r at the base of the arm r the lifting-bar is raised so as to support it in proper position to enter the link-cavity of the opposite butter-head, the bar p being supported by the paWl-rod s. By means of the crank-bar er chain a the coupling-pin in the opposite buffer-head is drawn up until the rod F swings forward, so that its end rests onl the link-cavity base, and so supports the pin clear of the link-cavity. As the cars approach, the link extending out of one bufferhead enters the link-cavity of the opposite buffer-head and pushes the rod F back until its end comes over the hole g', into which it drops, thus causing the coupling-pin todrop to place through the entering link and couple the cars. As the two buffer-heads come together the pin t is pressed back, disconnecting thepawl-rod s from the ratchet-arm o" and causing the lifting-harto drop to place, so that its upper surface is flush with the base ot the linkcavity, leaving free space for the movement of the link.

To uncouple the cars all that is necessary is to raise the pin by the chain a from above, or crank-bar 7c at the side of the car, until the rod F is free of the hole g and swings forwardl so as to rest on the link-cavity base. The movement of the pin is guided bythe guide It, so that it always drops directly into place, and the base h' of the guide prevents its being lifted out in nncoupling. V/hcn a car is uncoupled as above described, it is always in position for coupling, and can be left in that position until the car is coupled again.

In Fig. 3 is shown another form ot' crank-bar for raising the pin. In this the bar is bent out so as to form a double arm or crank, m, which tits under the upper arms, h2, of the guide h, and thus lifts'the pin. This has been found to work as well as where a single arm is used.

It is evident that the guide-recesses t' may be formed in separate metal bars, which may be bolted to the buffer-head, and that the pivoted rod F may be secured to the ordinary coupling-pin, so that the only change necessary in the common buffer-head in mounting the coupling-pin apparatus is drilling the holes gg for the reception of the pivoted rod.

In mounting the lifting-bar p it is only necessary to drill the recess for the bar and the holes for the ratchet-arm r and pin t, the other parts ofthe apparatus being secured in accessible places.

lVe thus forni a coupling which is automatic in its operation and can be operated both in coupling and uncoupling without incurring any danger between the cars, and which can be applied with little or no expense to the ordinary buffer-head now in common use on railroad-cars.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In car-couplings, the combination, with a buffer-head, of a couplingpin and arod pivoted to the head of the coupling-pin and extending through the butter-head, said pivoted rod being so connected that when raised itwill automatically catch upon the base of the bufferhead cavity in position to be caused to drop by the incoming link of the opposite buffer-head, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In car-couplings, the combination, with the bufferhead B, of the coupling-pin l) and rod F, pivoted to the head of the coupling-pin and extending at an incline through slots gg in the buffer-,head back of the coupling'pin, and adapted, when raised, to swing forward and automatically catch upon the base ot' the bufferhead cavity, substantially as and for the vpurposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the buifer-head'B, of the coupling pin` D,vertically1noving guide h, secured to the coupling-pin, and rod F, pivoted to the coupling-pin and extending at an incline through slots g g in the buffer-head back of the pin, and adapted, when raised, to swing forward and automatically catchY upon the base of the buffer-head cavity, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In combination with a buffer-head, B,-the n lifting-barpforsupportingthelink, and ratchet- L and-pawl apparatus for holding the bar at the desired height, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination With a buffer-head, B, the lifting-bar p, having the ratchet-arm r, pawlrod s, and disconnecting apparatus t, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof we, the said HENRY B. M CMURRAY and LEVI SCOTT, have hereunto set our hands.

HENRY B. MCMURRAY. LEVI SCOTT.

Witnesses:

F. G. KAY,

JAMES I. KAY.

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